


Awkward Silence

by sparklestheclown



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, High School AU, M/M, Theatre, jisung and jeongin are best friends, jisung loves cheescake, minho is a nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23552311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklestheclown/pseuds/sparklestheclown
Summary: “I don’t know Jeongin. My schedule is already full this semester, and I don’t know if I'll have time for all those rehearsals... Besides, what would I get out of being in a play?”“The cast gets cheesecake after the performance,” Jeongin reminded him.“I’m in.”Or, Hyunjin and Jisung are cast as the two leads in their school's theatre production, and will have to kiss on stage... The only problem is, they hate each other.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin
Comments: 90
Kudos: 261





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> time to finally find out what happened between them :)))

Jisung’s eyes scanned the paper that his best friend Jeongin was waving excitedly in his face. It was a flyer announcing their school’s upcoming theatre production. Auditions for the main roles were that afternoon.

Jisung had some experience in theatre, mainly when he was a little kid. He actually played the lead role of Doraemon in his primary school’s play when he was 7.

“You have to try out, I know you’d get the lead!” Jeongin exclaimed.

Jisung leaned back in his chair and peered up at Jeongin in confusion.

“Why in the world would I want to do that?” He asked.

“Because, if we all have roles, it’s gonna be so much fun! This is the last year that we're all in high school. We should do something memorable together,” Jeongin explained. 

Jisung realized with a start that this was, in fact, their last year all together. Sometimes he forgot that their friend Chan would be graduating this year. 

Jisung nodded, weighing the idea over in his mind. Sure, he did miss acting a little bit, since he spent most of his time alone working on producing music. Jisung didn’t want to agree immediately, though. He wanted to mess with his friend a bit, first.

“I don’t know Jeongin. My schedule is already full this semester, and I don’t know if I have time for all those rehearsals... Besides, what would I get out of being in a play?”

“The cast gets cheesecake after the performance,” Jeongin reminded him.

“I’m in.”

Jisung stood up, straightening his bucket hat as he followed Jeongin out of the music room to go find and convince the rest of their friends to audition as well.

* * *

Jisung pushed open the auditorium door that afternoon five minutes before auditions began. He wasn’t exactly prepared for this audition, but he had a lot of experience in them so he wasn’t too worried. His one concern, though, was that because he had decided to audition that morning, he never did get the chance during the day to learn what the play was actually about. 

He looked around the room, searching for anyone he knew so he could go ask. He spotted Minho across the room, scrolling through his phone. Minho had at least another hour before the auditions for smaller roles began. Jisung wondered why he was there so early, instead of doing his homework somewhere else. Minho basically lived in the library, which was actually where they had met. Minho had noticed Jisung struggling with math during his first year, and had offered to tutor him. Since then they had become really good friends despite the fact that Minho was a nerd.

Jisung figured that Minho likely knew the play and could help him out in the few minutes left before his audition

“Hey hyung,” Jisung said as he approached.

Minho looked up, his eyes brightening when he recognized Jisung walking towards him,

“Hey,” he replied, looking up at the clock on the wall. “You’ve got a few minutes left before auditions start, are you ready?” Minho asked.

“Oh, absolutely not. In fact, I was wondering if you could give me a super simplified summary of the plot so I know what I’m about to audition for?”

“Don’t tell me you’re auditioning for the lead role but you don’t even know what it is,” He implored.

Jisung puffed his cheeks out at him and shrugged.

Minho’s eyes widened in disbelief, but this was Jisung they were talking about. He shouldn’t be surprised by his friend's procrastination.

“Wow...” Minho shook his head before he quickly explained the lead character to Jisung. He didn’t have enough time to explain the plot, but he gave him a few pointers on how to best portray the character in the audition. Jisung would audition with someone who was trying for the other main role. This was in order for the director to judge their chemistry and find out who best worked together. Minho believed that the audition excerpt would be a scene from the play in which the two leads have an argument. This scene was critical to the story, so the leads would have to portray it with the right energy.

At 4:00, the director began calling students onto the stage to audition. 

“Han Jisung for Lead 1, please collect your script, and head to the stage”

Jisung thanked Minho, before collecting his script from the director. He walked towards the stage, bending the paper with his fingers. He felt several people’s eyes on him as he walked, and he felt his pulse quicken. As he stepped onto the empty stage, clutching his script, he heard the director call out a second name.

“Hwang Hyunjin for Lead 2, please come collect your script and join Jisung on stage”.

Jisung’s breath caught in his throat. He peered into the audience as the room fell silent. He watched Hyunjin stride over to their director, Mr. Park to collect his script. Everyone's eyes were on him and Hyunjin. Jisung stood frozen on the stage for a moment. His figure illuminated by the single spotlight shining down. He pulled himself together and walked to the center of the stage. He looked up in time to see Hyunjin walk across the stage to stand in front him. His footsteps rang out through the silent auditorium as he approached. Once he reached the center, they stood, facing each other with narrowed eyes.

The director called for them to begin running through the script.

Hyunjin didn’t even glance at his script before he began, reciting the lines with ease. He looked up at Jisung and smirked. Jisung glared in response, then began to read his part.

Jisung and Hyunjin actually were well suited for this. As the two read their lines, they fell into a rhythm. Their pace was impossibly fast, yet still full of clarity. It was clearly understood by the audience, none of whom could avert their eyes as the scene unfolded between the two.

As each minute of the audition passed, Jisung grew more irritated. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the other boy. This play was meant to be Jisung and his friends having fun together before Chan graduated. He did not need Hwang Hyunjin ruining it. 

At some point Jisung became aware that more people had arrived. Word had spread of Han Jisung and Hwang Hyunjin's audition. From the corner of his eye, he saw his group of friends. They had gathered in the center of the audience and stood, watching intently.

Their audition ended as Hyunjin hurled one last insult. Hyunjin looked up as he finished reading, and their eyes met. The silence was broken by the sound of one person clapping. Mr. Park stood in the audience with an excited gleam in his eye. He clapped for a moment, before signaling to the two that their audition was over. Jisung looked away, and the tension dissipated from the air. Jisung searched among the gathered students in the audience, looking for his friends. He saw them in the same place they’d been earlier. Jeongin clung to Seungmin’s arm anxiously, his eyes large as he gazed up at the stage. Seungmin whispered something to an intrigued looking Felix. Changbin spoke to Chan under his breath, while Chan nodded thoughtfully. Minho's eyes flitted between the two onstage, an indiscernible expression on his face.

The director dismissed the two from the stage. Jisung looked back at Hyunjin once more, before he turned and walked off stage. Hyunjin called after his receding back.

“Hey Jisung, I’ll see you at rehearsal,” He said, before he too, turned and left the stage in the opposite direction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the chapter where jisung goes through several stages of grief upon learning the audition results, before deciding that avoidance is the best policy.

“Maybe you should try to give Hyunjin a chance,” Felix said slowly, looking up from where he was sitting on Jisung’s bed. After the audition, they had all headed to Jisung’s house to hang out.

Jisung stopped his pacing and scowled at Felix.

“Just because you and Minho get along with him doesn’t mean that I have to.” 

This was partly true. Felix and Minho were friends with Hyunjin. They had met him in dance class at school, and had gotten along with him well.

“Well, assume that you do both end up in the play. You’ll have to deal with being around each other a lot. You might as well try to get along.” Minho said from where he sat at Jisung’s desk, flipping through one of Jisung’s textbooks.

“There’s no way we’ll both be cast. I mean, I wasn’t prepared for the audition at all. The director will probably cast someone else,” Jisung replied hastily.

“I don’t know,” Chan spoke up from the front of the room, where he stood leaning against the door.  
“You both kind of killed that audition. I hate to say it, but you guys had great chemistry. There’s no way the director missed that.”

The others nodded at this, except for Jisung who shook his head and resumed his pacing.

“Hey, even if you are both cast, you could always just try to, you know, avoid each other?” Jeongin suggested from where he sat on the floor, hugging his knees.

“I like that idea,” Changbin spoke up from the other side of the room. “You can try to get along with him, and if it doesn’t work out, just avoid him as much as you can.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Jisung’s Mom announcing that it was time to eat.

“You guys want to stay for dinner?” Jisung asked.

The room erupted in cheers. 

* * *

“Jisung! The results are in, we have to go look!”

Jisung looked up from where he was once again, working in the music production room. Jeongin was running towards him. Felix and Seungmin followed closely behind.

Three days had passed since the audition, and as much as Jisung had tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. The possibility of him and Hyunjin acting in the play together ate away at his mind. After a tense weekend of this, Jiung was glad that now, whatever the results were, the wait would be over.

Along the way to the auditorium, they were joined by Chan and Changbin. Minho had already arrived, and was standing near the auditorium waiting for them. The results were taped to the door, where a crowd had gathered to see. Minho met his friends, and they walked towards the crowd to find out their results. 

Jisung approached the door, his heart racing in his chest as he searched for his name.

He got the lead role. 

His eyes scanned the page once more before they landed again on Hyunjin’s name, marked for Lead 2. He exhaled sharply, stepping back as the realization hit him. 

It was official, they had been cast as the leads. There was no backing out now, the director would kill him if he dropped. He would have to find a way to deal with it, if not for the sake of the play, then for his friends. 

He stood to the side, while his friends searched for their names on the page as well, each one cheering as they found it. They all got roles! 

Jisung didn’t want to ruin everyone’s good mood with his brooding. He backed away from the crowd that had gathered around the auditorium door. He needed to move. Turning the corner and walking through an empty hallway, Jisung began to think.

* * *

They had never gotten along. 

Everybody knew Han Jisung and Hwang Hyunjin were sworn enemies, yet no one actually knew why.  
Despite their constant prying, Jisung refused to tell his friends anything. Over time, they had learned that asking would get them nowhere. Minho and Felix had even tried asking Hyunjin about it once they got to know him through dance class. Hyunjin wouldn’t tell them anything.

At this point, everyone guessed that _something_ must have happened between the two many years ago. Something that neither was willing to forget.

For the last few years, they had maintained a fragile truce by avoiding each other. This had worked for the most part, and Jisung didn’t like the idea of testing this truce by having to spend the next few weeks working closely with Hyunjin.

He could follow his friends’ advice and continue to avoid Hyunjin at all costs. There was no way he would try to “get along with him”. He thought to himself. The idea was laughable. He wanted nothing to do with Hyunjin, and he was sure the other boy wanted even less to do with him.

Avoiding Hyunjin would definitely solve the problem, Jisung thought to himself. 

The sound of approaching footsteps stirred Jisung from his thoughts. He looked up to see Hyunjin walking towards him, the hallway around them otherwise empty.

Jisung narrowed his eyes, as Hyunjin came to stand in front of him.

“What do you want?” He asked

“I just saw the cast list,” Hyunjin replied. “Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other,” He said, a trace of amusement in his words.

Jisung’s eyes searched Hyunjin’s face, already annoyed. Of course they would be seeing each other a lot more, they were in the same play. Why did Hyunjin sound amused about that? And why did he need to come personally tell him, when he could clearly read the paper himself? Jisung took a deep breath, trying to calm down before he let himself get any more upset.

“Listen, I’m about as happy as you are about this,” Jisung said.  
Hyunjin’s eyebrow raised the slightest bit, as Jisung continued.  
“Let’s stay away from each other,” Jisung said. “It’s worked before, and it will work out for this too. I’m only doing this play for my friends, otherwise I would drop. I won’t talk to you, and you can stay away from me. Sounds good?”

Hyunjin smirked as he ran a hand through his hair. Jisung watched, scowling, as his hair fell back into place perfectly. Jisung wanted to punch him.  
“Works for me,” Hyunjin responded, with a dry smile, before he turned and started walking away. Jisung watched his receding back, hoping that it would be this simple. 

But he knew, deep down, that he was screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the chapter in which Jisung panics while Minho feeds his cats. also rehearsals begin.

“So, what did you need to tell me?” Jisung asked as he hopped onto Minho’s kitchen counter after school that day. Minho bent over to greet his cats, petting each of them. This was how they usually hung out at Minho’s house. Jisung sat on his counter talking, while Minho fed his three cats.

“I didn’t want to tell you at school because I didn’t know how well you would take it, but there’s something you need to know about the play. About your part, specifically,” Minho said as he continued petting Dori. He stood up and glanced at Jisung before he walked to the pantry to collect the cat food. His cats ran after him meowing. Jisung watched as Minho brought the cat food container over to the counter. He set it down before looking Jisung in the eyes.

“You’re going to have to kiss Hyunjin,” He said, looking wary as though he suspected Jisung might explode.

“What!?”

“At the end of Act 2. You and Hyunin are going to have to-”

“Don’t say it again I heard you the first time!” Jisung yelped, grabbing his bucket hat by the corners and yanking it over his eyes, horrified. Things had been bad enough already, but this? This was too much.

He, Han Jisung, had to kiss Hyunjin? No way. 

Surely everyone would understand that there was no way Jisung could do this. They had to let him drop, and then they could all pretend this had never happened.

“I have to drop,” Jisung mumbled into his hands, which still covered his face. “How in the hell am I supposed to avoid him if I have to kiss him? I’ll go to Mr. Park tomorrow morning and tell him that I’m dropping out. Then we can all pretend that none of this ever happened,” he decided. Jisung peeked at Minho from behind his hands, hoping that the other boy would agree with him on this. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

“Jisung, you know you can’t do that,” Minho responded. He bent over and picked up his cat, Soonie, placing her into Jisung’s arms, hoping that would help him calm down. It usually worked for Minho. 

“Jeongin is so excited about all of us doing the play together. Think about how devastated he would be if you dropped out,” Minho said.

Jisung hugged the cat and looked up at Minho, his eyes wide.

“I know. I’d feel horrible. But there’s no way I can kiss Hyunjin. It’s not going to happen.” Jisung shook his head, as if he could clear the awful thought from his mind entirely.

“Look, I know you don’t like him. But you’re going to have to put up with him for the next few weeks. Even if you tried dropping, there’s no way Mr. Park will let you go. Not after that audition.” Minho said. He walked to the other side of the room, picking up his cat’s food bowls and brought them over to the counter to fill.

Jisung watched Minho carefully scoop cat food into the three bowls. The measuring cup he used was clearly meant for cat food, as it was decorated with small fish patterns. Jisung ordinarily would have teased him about this. Now he barely gave it a second thought, as the realization of what he was going to have to do sank in.

Jisung couldn’t let his friends down, especially not Jeongin. Not after he had been so excited about them all making it into the play. And besides, even if he did drop, assuming Mr. Park didn’t kill him, he would look like a coward.

Jisung was not a coward. Definitely not.

He would have to stand his ground and hope that Hyunjin dropped instead. And even if neither dropped, Jisung decided that he could handle one stupid stage kiss. He wasn’t scared of Hyunjin. Not at all.

As he recovered from the initial shock, Jisung’s panic was quickly replaced by a fierce determination. He was going to go through with this play and he wouldn’t let anything mess this up for him and his friends.

“I’m going to kiss him,” Jisung announced, his mind made up.

“At the end of Act 2,” Minho added, nodding.

* * *

Two days later, rehearsals began.

Jisung was initially disappointed that Hyunjin didn't drop out of the play. It had been wishful thinking, but still.

What surprised Jisung, though, was how well they avoided each though. They both blended into the large cast during the first rehearsals, only interacting when scripted. Jisung stayed with his friends on one side of the room while Hyunjin kept to the other side, alone.

Still, both of them could feel the rest of the cast's eyes glancing between them in anticipation. But, after a few days of Jisung and Hyunjin completely ignoring each other, the intrigue wore off.

Jisung started to relax. He enjoyed practicing lines with his friends, which took up most of their free time over the next few weeks. He really enjoyed the character he was playing as well. He had gotten Minho to tell him everything about the play since the audition, once they had more time. 

They had all gathered at Minho’s house one afternoon to run lines. While there, they thought about how each of them fit their characters. After that day, they started calling Minho, Seungmin, Changbin, and Felix a Greek chorus. The three of them did act like one sometimes. They also teased Chan about how his lines were all offering advice, making him the ultimate dad friend. But Jisung loved to tease Jeongin about his role the most.

Jeongin was so excited about his tiny role as Customer #1. He made all their friends practice his singular line with him. After a week of this, they were all on the brink of insanity. 

Felix and Hyunjin's characters were close, and they shared many scenes. They began to run their lines together outside of rehearsal. One time, Felix took Seungmin with him to come practice as well. Before long, all of Jisung’s friends accompanied Felix, curious to meet Hyunjin.

As they got to know him, Jisung’s friends grew more confused. They had all been wary of Hyunjin, because Jisung had made him out to be the worst. But in person, he didn’t seem bad at all. In fact, Hyunjin seemed shy and kind of awkward. He fit in well with their friend group. 

Despite their friends getting closer, Jisung and Hyunjin never practiced their lines together. They would both run their lines with Felix instead. At each rehearsal, they improvised on the parts they shared, hoping Mr. Park wouldn’t notice.

They just barely pulled it off for a few weeks, before Felix refused to help them out any more. He complained that he had his own lines to practice. He had spent so much time helping both of them out, that he could be an understudy to either of them. Felix hoped that by quitting, they would be forced to practice together. But they still refused. They continued to scrape by, getting through the next few rehearsals. Mr Park merely raised an eyebrow whenever he noticed something was off between the two. Neither was a bad actor, in fact both were among the best at the school, and they rehearsed flawlessly with everyone else, but in the scenes between the two alone they struggled. Either the spacing between their lines flowed unevenly or the phrasing was somewhat stilted. It became clear that the two didn't practice together.

Something was up, but Mr. Park decided to let it slide for now, hoping that the two would sort it out themselves before he had to intervene.

“Tomorrow we will start small group rehearsals to work on lead parts.” Mr. Park announced late one afternoon as everyone got ready to leave. “We’ll start with the big scenes in Act 2,” he continued. Although at his mention of Act 2, Jisung’s mind drifted.

Jisung wondered if Hyunjin knew about the kiss. He glanced at him to see his reaction just as Hyunjin did the same. Their eyes met and Jisung felt his face heat up as they stared each other down from across the room. After a few moments he realized with annoyance that Hyunjin wasn’t going to look away as he had hoped he would. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, who simply looked back at him with vague interest. Or was it amusement? Did he think this was funny? Jisung wondered angrily.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the distant sound of his friends calling his name.

“Earth to Jisung,” Felix called, waving his hand in front of Jisung’s eyes. When this didn't work, he gave up and grabbed his arm to get his attention.

“What?” Jisung asked, as he snapped back to reality, annoyed that he had looked away first. He glanced back at Hyunjin, but the other boy had already begun to walk away, smirking a bit as he left. Oh, how that bothered Jisung.

“Are you ready to go?” Felix asked, as Jisung tore his eyes away from Hyunjn's receding back, and turning to look at his friend.

“Go where?” Jisung asked.

“To the library." Felix reminded him. "We have to work on our science project, remember?”

“Ah yeah… The project,” Jisung said as he shook his head, trying to shake Hyunjin from his thoughts. “Yeah, lets go.”  
He stood up and walked to the door. His friends who had witnessed the scene shook their heads in confusion.

Jisung tried. He really did. But that evening he couldn’t stop thinking about Hyunjin. His mind kept replaying the scene from rehearsal on a loop through his brain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the chapter where jisung and hyunjin have their first small group rehearsal and the director is not happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so from here on out i'm going to include a flashback from their past at the beginning of each chapter.
> 
> i hope you like it!

Jisung and Hyunjin sat together quietly in their middle school principal’s office, glaring at each other. Jisung could feel the bruises starting the set in on his face. Hyunjin sported a busted lip, his hair ruffled. For once his hair wasn’t perfectly in place, Jisung noted with satisfaction. They had just been caught fighting for the third time that year, and were in trouble once again. 

They both looked up as the door to the office opened and the principal entered, a look of exasperation on his features as he glanced between the two.  
“Back already?” He greeted the two, sitting down behind his desk and pulling out their files. 

“You two do realize that fighting will be treated much more seriously when you go to high school next year, right? After three fights, you’ve only faced detention. If you get caught fighting even once in high school, you may be expelled,” He explained to the two.

Jisung shifted in his seat, uncomfortably. Hyunjin looked mortified.

“I know you two don’t like each other, but you have to sort it out. I don’t care what you do, but I don’t want you coming back here again.” He told them, making another note in both of their files and marking both for detention.

That day, Hyunjin and Jisung reached an unspoken agreement for the sake of their futures. They never fought again.

***

Jisung walked to the theatre room, dread settling in his stomach. The director had announced that today’s rehearsal would be for Jisung and Hyunjin only. Jisung wasn’t nervous. Definitely not.

He pushed open the door, and saw that Hyunjin had already arrived and was standing next to Director Park.

“Ah Jisung, nice of you to join us,” Mr. Park said, glancing up at the clock as Jisung walked over to join them. Jisung glanced at his watch and cringed internally, cursing himself for having walked so slowly to the theatre room that he had made himself late.

“Why don’t we start with the conversation between the two of you at the beginning of Act Two,” Mr. Park suggested, standing back to watch as the two began to run through the scene.

After five minutes of rehearsing, Mr. Park stopped them. 

“Why don’t you two practice together?” He asked, exasperatedly.

Jisung looked at the floor. Hyunjin did as well.

“You are both very good actors, but without practicing you are both lacking. I’m shocked that I have to say this to you two, as I had hoped that you would figure it out on your own. But we can only pull this production off if you actually rehearse your lines together,” He continued, looking exasperated.

“There’s really no point in continuing the rehearsal if you haven’t even practiced together yet. I’m going to go into my office, and- No Jisung you’re not going anywhere-” He shook his head in exasperation as he saw Jisung start to back away towards the door. “You two will stay right here until 6:00, practicing together. I want you both to make some serious progress in these next two hours.” Mr. Park glanced between the two once more before going to his office and closing the door, leaving the two alone.

Jisung glanced at Hyunjin, who was shuffling his feet, looking unsure.

“So, uh... Where should we start?” Jisung asked, looking at the wall behind Hyunjin. Hyunjin looked down at his feet as he responded, 

“I guess let’s go from the beginning.” 

Jisung nodded curtly, and they began to run through the scenes. Jisung checked his watch after what felt like three hours to see that it had been about twenty minutes. He sighed.

By the end of the rehearsal, the two’s lines went much more smoothly. They had gotten a lot done, even if it had been painfully awkward. At five minutes to 6, Mr. Park returned.

“How far did you get today?” He asked.

“We ran through all of our lines in acts one and two,” Hyunjin responded.

“Very good,” Mr Park nodded his approval. “I will see you two on Thursday to rehearse the second half of act two, I suggest you find time to practice together before then.” He said sternly. The two boys nodded, looking anywhere but each other.

“Alright, that’s it for today. You can go now.” He said as he walked back to his office.

Jisung couldn’t have walked out of there faster. Hyunjin watched him practically run out of the room, sighing as he picked up his bag and slowly left the room.

***

That evening, Hyunjin called Felix.

“Hey Hyunjin, what’s up?” Felix asked.

“Are you free right now?” Hyunjin asked.

Fifteen minutes later, Felix arrived at Hyunjin’s house. 

Hyunjin knew that Felix was one of Jisung’s friends. But Felix was also one of Hyunjin’s only friends, and he really needed to vent.

They sat on Hyunjin’s couch as Hyunjin told Felix about what had happened. He told Felix about how hard he had tried to get by without practicing with Jisung, and how embarrassing it was for the director to call them out. He also talked about how there was no way he could ask Jisung to practice together, and how he knew Jisung would never ask him. He talked, while Felix listened thoughtfully, nodding occasionally. Hyunjin wished he could just practice running lines with Felix, but he knew that wouldn’t solve the problem. Speaking of problems-

“I can’t believe I have to kiss him,” Hyunjin groaned, “This whole thing is embarrassing enough already, we don’t need to make it any worse by kissing,” he complained, putting his face in his hands.

“I mean, it’s probably really quick,” Felix offered. “Maybe it won’t be too bad.”

“Yeah but still...I can’t kiss him….This is bad...Really, really bad.” Hyunjin said.

Felix patted his shoulder sympathetically. He never understood what the deal was between the two, but he tried to be there for them regardless.

After that, they decided to watch a movie. Felix sat on the couch surfing through the list of movies, while Hyunjin made popcorn. They settled in to watch an action movie that Hyunjin loved and Felix had wanted to watch for ages.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this chapter doesn't have a flashback scene cause it got too long oops
> 
> i hope you like it!!

Felix plopped down in the seat across from Minho in the library. He waited for Minho to look up from his textbook before he began to speak.

“I talked to Hyunjin yesterday,” he began.

“I talked to Jisung yesterday,” Minho replied.

A look passed between the two, before Felix continued. 

“They need to practice their lines together, but neither one of them will talk to the other. I think it’s time we helped them out a bit.” He said.

Minho raised his eyebrows. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m thinking a nice, neutral location, ” Felix said, as Minho nodded, looking thoughtful. “You invite Jisung, and I’ll invite Hyunjin. We won’t tell them that the other is coming. Once we’re all there, they will have no choice but to practice together.”

Minho considered this for a second, before he nodded. 

“Let’s do it.” 

***

Jisung walked to the cafe to meet up with his friends that afternoon. Minho had suggested that they all meet up to practice together before the next big group rehearsal, and Jisung would never turn down an opportunity to get cheesecake from his favorite cafe. 

He looked around when he entered, searching for his friends. He spotted Chan, Minho, Changbin, and Jeongin at a table by the window. He headed over, greeting his friends as he took the seat next to Minho. 

“Felix and Seungmin are on their way, they should both be here in a minute” Minho told Jisung just as the door opened and Seungmin walked in, grinning as he saw his friends. He walked over and sat down on the other side of Jisung. 

They all sat for a few minutes chatting about school, and what they planned to order, before the door opened and Felix walked in, talking animatedly to someone behind him. Hyunjin had come with him.

“Hey guys!” Felix called cheerfully, as he walked over. Hyunjin followed him over to the table reluctantly. 

Jisung grabbed his bucket hat from where it lay in his lap, and quickly pulled it back on.

“Alright guys it’s been fun, but I’ve got to run-” He started to stand up, when suddenly Seungmin and Minho each grabbed one of his arms, pulling him back down. He glared at his friends, as Hyunjin and Felix came to sit on the other side of the table next to Jeongin. Hyunjin sat across from Jisung, examining the table, while Jisung stared out the window.

“Hey Hyunjin,” Minho greeted him. The two started talking about their dance class, while Felix and Seungmin started chatting about their English class. 

After chatting for a few minutes, they all ordered their food. Jisung watched as Hyunjin looked through the menu thoroughly, before eventually deciding on a milkshake. Jisung skimmed through the desserts until he found his favorite cheesecake and went with that. 

While they waited for their food, they decided to start practicing some of their scenes.

Jisung sat back in his chair and watched as Hyunjin and Felix rehearsed their scene, gazing at Hyunjin’s hands while he spoke. Hyunjin had always liked to talk with his hands. His eyes followed one of Hyunjin’s hands as he ran it through his hair. Jisung’s eyes came to rest on Hyunjin’s face, watching as his lips moved while he spoke and how he smiled when he read his lines. 

Jisung heard Minho clear his throat beside him. He looked away quickly, realizing that Felix and Hyunjin had finished their scene and were looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to read the next line. He felt his face heat up as he began to run through his next scene; a conversation with Felix. He could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him the whole time, which didn’t help him focus at all. 

Their food arrived and Jisung was ecstatic when he saw his cheesecake. He had to try his best not to immediately devour the entire piece as soon as he got it. He glanced over at Hyunjin who appeared lost in thought as he looked through his script. 

Hyunjin absentmindedly took the cherry from the top of his milkshake and put it in his mouth before turning back to his script, evidently searching for something. Jisung watched, mesmerized, while Hyunjin tied a knot in the cherry stem with his tongue, looking distracted. Hyunjin then placed the stem on his napkin, nodding at his script and circling something before glancing up to see Jisung watching him. Hyunjin blinked, his cheeks coloring a bit, before he turned to address the table about what he had been looking for in the script. Jisung turned to look out the window, suddenly feeling as if it were too warm in the cafe. 

“I was thinking maybe we should run through these scenes,” Hyunjin suggested, showing them the scenes he was talking about. The others agreed, and they began to rehearse those parts. 

Jisung was relieved when he realized that he didn’t have too many lines in this scene. He sat back and ate his cheesecake. It was so good that he managed to stop paying attention to the fact that Hwang Hyunjin was sitting across from him.

He stuffed a huge bite in his mouth, silently kicking himself when he realized how he must look right now; his cheeks puffed all the way out like a squirrel. He felt a pair of eyes on him and glanced up, just as Hyunjin quickly looked the other way, a look on his face that Jisung couldn’t quite place.

Finally they reached one of the scenes that was between Jisung and Hyunjin alone. Their friends watched as the two started rehearsing this, and for a while it went smoothly. 

However, after a few minutes, Hyunjin stopped Jisung.

“Hold on, that’s not the right line, you’re supposed to say this instead,” He corrected Jisung, who threw him a dirty look before he continued.

Minho glanced at Felix and Seungmin, who both shrugged, before turning back to watch the ongoing conversation.

A moment later, Jisung cut Hyunjin off sharply, “I think you should focus on your enunciation.” 

Beside him, he heard Minho inhale sharply in warning, but he plowed on. “Your lines aren’t very clear.”

Hyunjin glared at him from across the table. Jisung watched as one of his hands balled into a fist.

“I don’t think I’m the one who should be worried about enunciation,” He retorted in a low voice.

Jisung dropped his script on the table, feeling his face heat up. 

“What did you say?” 

Jisung watched as Hyunjin clenched his jaw, evidently pissed.

“You heard me. You haven’t practiced enough and it shows” he responded.

“My enunciation is just fine. And it’s not my fault that we haven’t rehearsed enough, ” Jisung answered, his voice raising in anger as he glared down at the table. 

Jisung’s mind unhelpfully reminded him that Hyunjin’s cheeks always flush when he’s angry, which is something he did not need to think about right now. But still he couldn’t help himself now that he had thought about it. He glanced quickly and yes, Hyunjin’s cheeks were flushed a bright red. And of course it looked good. Hyunjin always looked good, he thought irately.  
_Of course._

“Why do you always have to overreact?” Hyunjin asked angrily, and suddenly they weren’t just talking about the script anymore. “You make such a big deal out of things that really aren’t.”

Jisung froze, as he realized what Hyunjin was talking about.

The whole table glanced between them nervously, nobody sure if they should intervene.

“I’d rather overreact, than not care at all” Jisung shot back. 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. 

“That’s not true,” Hyunjin retorted. “You’re the one who-”

“You know exactly what you did,” Jisung cut him off, his hands shaking under the table.

“No, Jisung, I think you’ve forgotten what _you_ did.” Hyunjin said, staring straight at him.

From the other side of the table, Felix coughed loudly, reminding them that they were not alone. Jisung and Hyunjin both noticeably deflated, but still glared at each other as their friends tried to change the topic, suggesting that they rehearse a separate scene. Despite the change in topic, Jisung remained pissed. He could feel Hyunjin watching him. Soon, however, Jisung got distracted, throwing himself into rehearsing a scene with Minho. 

Jisung didn’t notice the pair of eyes that followed him for the rest of the afternoon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! im sorry i took forever to post the next chapter! the last few months i was super busy w school stuff but im back now! i hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

“Jisung, during today’s rehearsal we need to cover some important scenes at the end of Act Two. 

I’m holding a rehearsal with just a few leads as well as you and Hyunjin to cover these scenes. If you see him today could you let him know? Thanks”

Mr. Park clapped Jisung on the shoulder as he turned to walk away. Jisung stood frozen in the hallway, his face heating up. 

He knew what was coming at the end of act two and he wasn't ready. He pulled out his phone, quickly finding Hyunjin’s name in his contacts. Internally, he thanked Felix for putting it there.

“You never know when you might need it,” he had said as he grabbed Jisung's phone, and typed in Hyunjin's phone number.

Jisung sent a quick message letting the other boy know before he turned and headed off in the direction of his next class, the sound of the bell reminding him to hurry.

* * *

Jisung couldn’t concentrate all day. He had tried to stop himself from thinking about the rehearsal but his mind kept wandering back. The constant reminders from his friends as they found out didn’t help him forget about it, either.

After lunch, Jeongin ran up to Jisung in the hallway, Seungmin trailing behind him. 

“Hey Jeongin, what’s up?” 

Jeongin pushed a piece of peppermint gum into Jisung’s hand, before bursting into a fit of giggles. Before Jisung could react, the two turned and raced away, howling with laughter.

“Hey!” Jisung yelled after his friends, “this isn’t funny!” 

Jisung didn’t even like mint gum. He sighed as he stuffed it into his backpack, where it would probably never be seen again.

* * *

Before he knew it, Jisung stood in the rehearsal room, trying to resist his strong desire to run. Throughout the room, there were small groups of cast members, each rehearsing different scenes. _Maybe,_ Jisung thought, _nobody would notice if I just-_

“Okay, lets cover this scene right here,”

Jisung faintly heard Mr. Park announce to the crew. He called Hyunjin and Jisung over to where he stood near the front of the room. Jisung was thankful that after he gave the announcement, most of the room turned back to their own scenes and continued practicing. He really didn’t want an audience for this. 

He turned and saw Hyunjin who was leaning against the wall to the side chewing gum. Jisung watched his jaw clench as he realized what scene they were about to cover. He gave a sigh and pushed off the wall, glancing at Jisung as he approached. When their eyes met, Jisung wondered if he also was resisting a strong desire to run. 

Mr. Park glanced between the two, noticing Jisung’s flushed expression. He worried that the boy may have come down with a cold and asked if he was alright. Hyunjin turned to look at him, as Jisung flushed impossible deeper, assuring the director that he was completely fine. He decided to let it go, as Hyunjin had also begun to turn slightly pink in the face.

“Okay, so, you both know how to stage kiss, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” Hyunjin’s voice said from _way closer_ beside him than Jisung was prepared for. He snuck a glance at him to see Hyunjin carefully studying his feet. As if he could sense Jisung’s eyes on him Hyunjin raised his gaze and looked at Jisung expectantly. 

Jisung realized he hadn’t answered the director’s question.

“Uh, No, I- I don’t know how to do that,” Jisung forced out despite his panic. The director glanced between the two of them, before he sighed. He really didn’t get paid enough for this. 

“Hyunjin, since you already know what to do, I’ll let you explain the process to Jisung. I’ll leave the two of you to it. If you need anything I’ll be-” Mr. Park glanced around the room quickly “I’ll be over there… helping Chan... with his uh, monologue.. Yeah, I’ll be over there” Mr. Park nodded at the two as he hurried away. Really, there was only so much awkwardness the man could take.

Jisung watched, betrayed, as Mr. Park left the two of them alone. Jisung looked over at Chan who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. 

Jisung looked up at Hyunjin who stood in front of him. His nerves from earlier were nothing compared to now. Hyunjin on the other hand looked totally calm. Jisung realized this with a tinge of annoyance as he studied the other’s face. 

“So,” Jisung started awkwardly. “How are we supposed to do this?” He asked warily.

“Well the good news is that we don’t _actually_ have to kiss.” Hyunjin explained. Jisung wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought he saw something flash across Hyunjin’s face, gone too fast to read. 

“Basically you just put your thumb over the other person’s lips and kiss your own thumb.” 

Oh. 

Alright.

That's… really cool. So Jisung won’t actually… kiss him. 

Jisung almost laughs out loud. It seems so ridiculous. The thought of kissing Hyunjin had lived rent free in his mind ever since Minho first told him about it, but it won’t even happen.

Jisung wondered why he didn’t feel happier to hear this? Why couldn’t he manage a sigh of relief? Why did he feel… 

Disappointed? No, that's insane. Neither of them wanted to do this, they hated each other… right?

“...Cool.” Jisung said intelligently. He couldn’t breathe properly, let alone think of something to say, so the awkward silence dragged painfully on. 

Jisung quickly glanced around the room, toying with the idea of running. No, he told himself firmly. He was not going to be intimidated by Hyunjin, not even as the other brought his hand up to cup Jisung’s cheek. Jisung froze.

Wait, Jisung thought. He was supposed to move first! What did Hyunjin think he was doing? 

Jisung’s heart hammered as he watched Hyunjin’s face come closer and closer. His eyes widened as he felt the other’s breath on his cheek. If Hyunjin came any closer, Jisung swore he would be able to hear his heart hammering in his chest, threatening to break free. 

Jisung looked up to see Hyunjin looking into his eyes, his expression soft. He knew that in this scene the characters were meant to be having a heartfelt moment, but Jisung couldn’t take it. The rational part of him was yelling to just knock it off and get it over with. 

But right now, Jisung wasn’t feeling particularly rational.

He turned his head sharply to the left. Hyunjin's lips brushed against his cheek for a millisecond before he stepped back quickly. He looked at Jisung through widened eyes. 

Running didn’t sound like too bad of an idea right now.

So Jisung did all he could think of at that moment. He ran.

He felt eyes on his back as he raced towards the door, throwing it open and disappearing into the hallway. The room fell silent and the sound of Jisung’s footsteps echoed throughout the room for a moment.

But Jisung, so focused on getting out of there, didn't notice the second pair of footsteps that ran after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed this chapter! please let me know what you think in the comments below
> 
> ps. don't worry, the next chapter will be up really soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is! the chapter you've all been waiting for ;)

Hyunjin pushed open the gate to the park as the sun rose one morning. The air was still cool, and the shadows were long, as the early morning sun bathed everything in a warm glow. This was his favorite time to come. Nobody would arrive for the next few hours, so it was quiet enough for him to think. He thought about his classes at school, and how they were starting to get more challenging now that he was 8. They now had to do homework, and couldn’t just play all afternoon anymore like they used to. Now he spent his afternoons at home studying, and he came to the park early on the weekends. This way, he made good grades, and he also avoided certain people who would be at the playground after school..

He went over to the swings, and sat down. He glanced over at the other swing, and sighed. He missed his friend. Hyunjin knew that it was his fault that they weren’t friends anymore. He often wished he could go back in time and undo that day. Jisung had said he never wanted to talk to him again, but Hyunjin didn’t realize he was serious at first. He had believed that after that day things would go back to normal, but they didn’t. 

Every time he saw Hyunjin, Jisung scowled at him, and turned his back. Hyunjin wished he could talk to him and tell him that he hadn’t meant it, but he had never gathered the courage to go talk to him. Hyunjin sighed, as he shook his head, trying to think about something else. 

* * *

Jisung shuffled his feet as he walked over to the swingset late one afternoon. He dropped his backpack onto the ground and sat down on the swings halfheartedly. He looked around the empty playground, his eyes landing on the empty swing beside him. He frowned. He thought about the things he had said that day. He hadn’t meant any of it. But it had been a year, and Jisung was starting to lose hope. He knew that it was his fault for overreacting, but he couldn’t say anything to Hyunjin now. He was too embarrassed. And besides, he was sure Hyunjin had moved on. Jisung never saw him at the playground anymore, anyway. 

* * *

Jisung pushed open the door to the first room he came across, an empty classroom. An old oak tree stood right outside the window, shielding the room from the golden afternoon sunlight. This room was cooler than the rehearsal room, as it had been empty a few hours now. Breathing heavily, Jisung walked over to the window and peered out, while he tried to steady his breathing.

Hyunjin had almost kissed him. Jisung’s heart hammered against his chest, threatening to shatter against his ribs as he recalled the past minute, Hyunjin’s breath on his cheek, the way his lips softly brushed against Jisung’s cheek after he turned away.. Hyunjin had been way to close, way, way too close. _But not close enough_ , a tiny voice in the back of his head remarked. 

Jisung was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of the door being roughly pushed open. He looked up into the face of a furious Hyunjin.

“Jisung what the actual hell was that?” Hyunjin spat as he glared at the other.

Jisung just stared at him, dumbfounded. Jisung had figured one of his friends would come after him eventually. Maybe Minho or Felix. Either way, he definitely wasn’t expecting to see Hyunjin. The latter glared at him as he closed the door behind him, then spoke again as he slowly approached the other.

“What is your problem, man?” Jisung narrowed his eyes at that. It’s not like this was his fault. He remained quiet, instead studying a spot on the wall opposite him where the paint had chipped and peeled back, revealing the wood behind.. 

“You weren’t supposed to lean in first.” was all Jisung said after a few moments of silence. 

“I'm sorry?” Hyunjin said, his voice dangerously quiet. He took a step closer.

“I was supposed to lean in first so you messed it up by leaning in,” Jisung stated, looking at the wall, his arms folded closely over his chest. 

“Listen Jisung, we have less than a month until the performance. We don’t have time to waste like this!” Hyunjin was yelling now. Jisung glanced at him and, yep, Hyunjin’s cheeks were flushed red. Jisung felt his heart speed up, as he realized just how hot Hyunjin looked when angry. 

“And why on earth did you freeze?” Hyunjin asked, taking another step forward as he dragged his hand through his hair in frustration. Jisung watched as his hair landed messily around his face. “If you do something stupid like that on stage we’re totally screwed!” 

“Are you going to say anything or are you going to just stare at me?” Jisung opted for the latter, biting his lower lip as he stared at Hyunjin’s mouth. Hyunjin’s lips looked soft and he was still chewing the bubblegum from earlier. Jisung found this incredibly distracting.

“Seriously, man, what is your problem?”

With great effort, Jisung dragged his eyes away from Hyunjins lips, and stared into his eyes instead.

“You want to know what my problem is?” Jisung asked quietly. He took a step towards Hyunjin, noticing the soft intake of breath from the other. Maybe it was the fact that they were alone, maybe it was seeing Hyunjin so agitated, but somehow all of Jisung’s nerves from earlier had disappeared.

Jisung suddenly realized how close they were, now barely inches apart. He studied the freckle below Hyunjin’s eye. Hyunjin blinked at him curiously, the fire from earlier now absent from his eyes. His eyes flickering from Jisung’s eyes to his lips.

“It’s you.”

With a surge of courage, Jisung closed the gap between them, kissing him. 

Hyunjin froze for a millisecond before he responded, placing his hands on Jisung’s shoulders before pushing him against the wall to kiss him back, hard. 

Jisung brought his hands up to Hyunjin’s hair, cheering internally as he ran his fingers through it. He didn’t want to admit how long he had wondered what this would feel like. Hyunjin’s hand now cupped his jaw, just like back in the rehearsal room. Hyunjin tilted his chin slightly, pulling him in closer as his other hand went to Jisung’s back. 

In the small part of his mind still capable of thought, Jisung chuckled at the idea of the two of them kissing like this onstage. Everyone would be so shocked. 

The idea was soon forgotten as Hyunjin deepened the kiss, and Jisung surrendered all rational thought for the next few moments. Hyunjin tasted like bubblegum. 

Neither of them noticed as the door barged open a second time.

“Wow,” Felix said from where he stood in the doorway. Beside him stood a shellshocked Seungmin, and an unsurprised looking Minho. 

Jisung and Hyunjin jumped apart breathing heavily. Jisung whipped around to see his friends standing in the doorway .

_Oh shit_

“Uh, Mr. Park wanted us to see where you ran off to. He said he needs everyone back to go over a group scene,” Seungmin addressed the tree out the window rather than looking at Jisung or Hyunjin.

“Yeah… we’ll go let him know you’re on the way back now,” Felix said with a smirk.

Jisung looked to Minho who had remained silent. He raised his eyebrow at Jisung, as if to say, “We’ll talk about this in my kitchen later,” before he turned and started walking back towards the rehearsal room.

Jisung wondered if he looked as disheveled as he felt. A glance at Hyunjin’s hair and flushed face confirmed that he probably looked equally as messy. 

He turned to leave.

“Hey, Jisung,” Hyunjin said, reaching out to grab Jisung’s wrist.

Jisung turned around to see the other looking at him with big eyes. 

“Can we talk about this?” He asked, eyes searching Jisung’s face. 

Jisung nodded dumbly. 

So they walked back to rehearsal, Hyunjin fighting back a smile, and Jisung trying to remember when he started chewing the bubblegum Jeongin gave him earlier… 

They did have a lot to talk about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, i hope you liked this chapter!! please let me know what you think!
> 
> <3 ._. <3


	8. Chapter 8

“Okay Jisung, let’s hear it,” Minho said as the two walked into his kitchen that afternoon.

Jisung hopped up onto his kitchen counter as Minho headed over to the freezer to get them ice cream. He passed Jisung an ice cream and waited for him to talk. 

“Where did you get this from, Minho?” Jisung asked while studying the ice cream. Minho started to tell him that his mom had found it while shopping the other day when he realized what Jisung was trying to do.

“Stop deflecting,” Minho said, giving Jisung a look. Jisung just looked at him with big, innocent eyes. Minho sighed and ate a bit of his own ice cream, looking pensive. 

Minho broke the momentary silence. “You don't really hate him, do you?” he asked thoughtfully. 

Jisung stayed quiet for a moment before replying.

“I did for a long time,” Jisung said. “We both hated each other for years after that day...”

“That day?” 

“Funny, it’s actually been about ten years since it happened” Jisung chuckled to himself. 

“Wait, are you serious? You two have been like this for ten years?” Minho asked incredulously. He had just assumed the two were exes and had gone through some sort of ugly breakup in middle school.

“That means you guys were like, what, seven?”

“Yup,” Jisung nodded.

“What could have possibly happened that was so bad?” Minho asked in disbelief. 

“He embarrassed me.” Jisung mumbled. 

“Oh.” was all Minho said.

***

Felix plopped down next to Hyunjin on the couch that evening. Hyunjin sat curled into a ball, resting his forehead on his knees. He seemed to be going through it. 

Felix smiled at him.

“So...”

Hyunjin looked up at him. His cheeks were dusted a light pink. He hadn’t stopped blushing since rehearsal earlier that afternoon. Felix wondered if he would stay like this forever.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Felix asked, carefully. He knew not to press his friends about what had happened. But Hyunjin had come over right after rehearsal ended, and he clearly wanted to talk. 

“This is so stupid,” Hyunjin said. He let out a long sigh and let his head fall back onto his knees.

“What’s stupid?” Felix asked.

“You know Jisung hates me,” Hyunjin balanced his chin on his knee and raised his eyes to meet Felix’s. Felix held his breath in anticipation that he might finally learn what had transpired between the two. “What happened between us is something so, so stupid.” Hyunjin laughed ruefully. “It’s my fault, but I was too embarrassed to talk to him about it.”

“What did you do?” Felix asked. “I mean, if you don't mind me asking,” he added quickly.

Hyunjin shook his head slightly, before he took a deep breath and dove into the story.

***

Hyunjin was excited to go to the playground to see his best friend. When he arrived, he searched around for a minute while his mom walked over to the bench to go chat with the other parents.

He finally spotted Jisung over by the swings, animatedly telling a story to a group of other kids. He ran over to go join the group. Hyunjin worried a bit as he approached the group. He was really shy, and didn’t like a lot of people looking at him. 

But Jisung was there. It would be okay. He could just go say hi to Jisung and then they could swing together. The crowd would hopefully go play somewhere else.

“Hey look, your boyfriend is here,” one of the kids said to Jisung, pointing at Hyunjin. All the other kids began to laugh.

“What are you talking about?” Hyunjin asked, looking between Jisung and the group of kids.

“I said you’re his boyfriend,” the kid said, laughing at him. “You two always play together, so that means you’re boyfriends.”

“Ok,” Jisung said at the same time Hyunjin said “No we’re not,”

Jisung turned to Hyunjin, frowning, “Why not?” He asked. 

Hyunjin looked at Jisung, not really understanding. “Because that’s not how that works,” he said, all of the attention making him feel stressed. 

He didn’t really know what being a boyfriend meant, but he had always thought it was for when you were an adult. He didn’t understand why the other kids called Jisung his boyfriend, that made no sense. 

He turned and ran over to his mom, who was sitting and chatting with the other moms at the bench. 

“Mom, how old do you have to be to have a boyfriend?” He asked.

“Oh honey you’re way too young for that, you don’t have to worry about that for quite a few years,” she laughed, already turning back to her friends. Okay, Hyunjin thought, problem solved.

Hyunjin glanced back at Jisung who still stood by the swings. He ran back over, about to tell him what his mom had said, when one of the kids from the group shouted “Boyfriends!” and ran away laughing.

Jisung narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin, “Why did you say no?” he asked, hurt. He didn’t really understand what was going on either, but he understood that Hyunjin had just rejected him in front of everyone.

“Because,” Hyunjin answered, not sure why it was a big deal.

Jisung stared at him, horrified as he began to think. He didn’t know what the other kids meant by boyfriends, but Hyunjin was his best friend. Did Hyunjin not consider him a friend as well?

Hyunjin realized with discomfort that the other kids were still gathered around watching them closely. He felt sick and wanted to leave. He didn’t understand why Jisung looked so upset. 

All of this was starting to give him a headache. He turned to face the crowd willing himself to speak up. He hoped he could get them all to leave, so he and Jisung could go back to playing like normal.

“Everyone listen, we are not boyfriends,” Hyunjin told them, hoping that they would leave at that.

Instead the kids glanced at each other, before one of the kids shouted,

“Kiss!”

Hyunjin’s stomach dropped, as he glanced at Jisung who was glaring at him, then back at the group who continued to stand surrounding them. Hyunjin couldn’t see a way out.

“No!” Hyunjin yelled, shutting them all up. 

He was getting desperate at this point, and he was sure his face was bright red from the embarrassment. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about kissing Jisung, but they were only seven. 

Wasn’t that way too young? And besides, his mom once told him that one’s first kiss should be special. There was nothing special about this, Hyunjin thought angrily. He needed to leave. Now.

Hyunjin glanced at Jisung’s upset face once more before he bolted away, the kids hollering after him before they gave up and left to go play somewhere else. 

Jisung stood, confused at what had just happened. Why was Hyunjin being so cold to him? He thought they were friends, but Hyunjin had just told everyone he didn’t like Jisung. Jisung ran after Hyunjin, catching up to him under a large tree just outside the playground. 

“Why did you do that?”Jisung asked, angrily.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Hyunjin said, confused. “But why did you say we were boyfriends?” He asked, turning on Jisung. He had just fended off the whole group of kids while Jisung stoodby, and he knew Hyunjin was scared of crowds. 

He bristled. If Jisung hadn’t agreed with them, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. 

“Why did you say we weren’t? Do you hate me or something?” Jisung countered.

“No it’s just-" Hyunjin struggled to find a way to tell him what he meant. 

He wanted to tell Jisung that he liked him, and that Jisung was his best friend, but that the crowd made him so stressed and that they were seven and way too young for all this drama that neither of them really understood, but he didn’t know how. 

Instead he just watched in horror as Jisung’s sad expression was replaced by a look of hatred.

“Whatever,” Jisung said angrily. “I hate you!” 

He turned and began to run away, hoping nobody could see the tears that ran freely down his cheeks.

“Wait!” Hyunjin called, but it was too late. 

Hyunjin watched Jisung sprint away, until tears blurred his vision.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> are yall ready for some Conflict Resolution™?

As he left Minho’s house a while later, Jisung found himself walking to the park. It was on the way back to his house anyway, he decided. 

He pushed open the gate, relieved when he saw that it was nearly deserted. The air was calm, filled with the sounds of birds singing in the distance, and the late afternoon sun bathed everything in a warm rosy glow. 

Jisung headed over to the swingset. He could always think better when he sat there. However, as he got nearer, he saw that someone was already sitting on one of the swings. 

Hyunjin glanced up at the sound of footsteps approaching. He blinked when he saw Jisung walking towards him.

“Hey,” Jisung said.

“Hey, Jisung,” Hyunjin nodded at the empty swing next to him. Jisung gave a small smile and sat down. The old metal chain creaked as the two sat for a moment. 

A small squirrel dashed across the playground, stopping right in front of them. Hyunjin glanced at Jisung, then at the squirrel, the corners of his lips curving up as he was reminded of something from long ago. 

Jisung seemed to be gathering his courage to say something. Hyunjin beat him to it. After all he felt like he really ought to apologize for what he’d said all those years ago.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, turning to look at Jisung who was gazing at an old tree across the park. The tree from that day, ten years ago. “I didn’t mean it, what happened that day.” He said. 

Jisung snapped his head up to look at Hyunjin, surprise evident on his face.

“You didn’t?” 

“Nope. I didn’t even understand what was going on then.”

Jisung took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry too,” he said. “I didn’t understand either, but I thought you hated me.” He looked at Hyunjin. His eyes were sad. 

“I never really hated you,” Hyunjin whispered.

They sat in silence for another minute. Their shadows stretched longer as the sun continued it’s descent towards the horizon.  
“Jisung?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we could start over?”

Jisung reached out and took his hand. As the sun finally set, their shadows began to fade into the night. The sound of quiet laughter echoed through the empty park. They had a lot of catching up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for fluff im warning u now


	10. Chapter 10

The last two weeks had flown by. After that evening at the park, Jisung and Hyunjin became close again. Everyone was shocked when the two walked into rehearsal hand in hand, laughing together about something one had said. 

Mr. Park didn’t say anything, but he was immensely relieved when rehearsal began and it became obvious that the two had practiced their lines together. He had no idea what was ever the problem between the two, but was glad they had finally worked it out.

Mr. Park had pulled Hyunjin and Jisung aside after the last rehearsal before the performance, telling them about the play that would be held in the spring. Auditions were coming up in a few weeks after break. If they wanted, they could be the leads again, he told them with a smile.

When Jisung told Minho about this after the fact, as soon as he mentioned the name of the play Minho found it hilarious, bursting into laughter for a minute before he explained. 

In the play, the two leads were mortal enemies.

Jisung told Hyunjin about this while they shared a cheesecake at the cafe. It was their favorite place to go together these days. 

“And then you have to kill me!” Jisung had said dramatically while he waved a bit of cheesecake around on his fork. Hyunjin giggled for a moment, as he watched him. 

“Let’s do it,” He smiled at his boyfriend, who grinned. 

They were going to have so much fun with this.

* * *

As the crowd burst into thunderous applause, the cast lined up to take a bow. Hyunjin found himself standing next to Jisung, who took his hand and squeezed. Despite all of the last minute drama that usually accompanies school theatre productions, Hyunjin felt that everything had gone really well. 

As the cast began to head offstage, Hyunjin glanced at Jisung, who smiled brightly at him, and suddenly they were seven years old again. 

* * *

The sun shone brightly from above the playground, and he could hear the birds singing on that beautiful summer day. 

Jisung raced over to Hyunjin as soon as he arrived at the playground. Hyunjin looked up, his face splitting into a grin as he saw Jisung running towards him. He held out his arms as the other crashed into him with a hug.

They laughed as they both fell over, the sand from the playground breaking their fall. The two were all knobby knees and bright smiles, free of any care in the world.

Hyunjin loved calling Jisung a little squirrel, pointing to his chubby cheeks as proof, and he named every squirrel at the playground after him. Whenever they got tired of chasing after the little Jisung squirrels, the two sat together on the swingset and watched them climb through the trees at the edge of the forest. 

Then they would usually have a swinging competition to see who could swing higher, which Hyunjin normally won before Jisung took a flying leap off the swingset, launching himself across the park. Hyunjin always carefully got off the swing before chasing after him as he laughed.

Playing with Jisung at the park was Hyunjin’s favorite part of the day, and he looked forward to it all day at school. He told Jisung this once, and Jisung laughed happily before saying he felt the same. 

What Hyunjin never told Jisung, though, was that whenever they played together Hyunjin felt like he really had butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. He didn’t know what that meant, but it was nice. 

Their mothers always watched them from the park benches, smiling fondly as their kids played together. Best friends, they called them. 

Hyunjin liked calling Jisung his best friend. 

* * *

Hyunjin looked around at the cast around him, smiling as he saw all of their friends there with them. After the performance the whole group had decided they would get dinner together before having a movie night at Felix’s house.

Hyunjin was so happy as he thought about this, but his mind was brought back to the present, when Jisung pulled at his hand as he led the way offstage towards the rehearsal room.

“The whole cast gets cheesecake after the performance,” Jisung reminded him excitedly, “and we’re gonna be first in line!”

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap! if you've made it this far thank you so much for sticking with this story!
> 
> i had so much fun writing it, and i hope you've all enjoyed reading it as well <3
> 
> i want to give a million thanks to perigeecoffee for all her help with proofreading and editing, please go check out her works! 
> 
> thanks again for reading, please leave a kudos and a comment if you liked it, they make my day!
> 
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> and there ya go...  
> i hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!


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